Kerber had beaten Pliskova in three sets in NY, having secured the top spot days earlier following Serena Williams’ exit.
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Asked what she might pass on to her children one day about achieving their dreams, Kerber said. Pliskova served out the second set – the only one dropped by Kerber all tournament – and spiked a ball.
Kerber took advantage of Pliskovas big-match nerves evidenced by a couple of misses at the net to break in the opening game.
She has crushed more aces than any other player on the WTA tour this year, but on Saturday that weapon was not quite enough. She made nervous errors on both wings that were nearly painful to watch, missed four of six first serves – and broke a string.
Angelique Kerber of Germany celebrates with the US Open womens singles trophy after defeating Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic in the final at NY, on Saturday. He appeared to start cramping in the fourth set as he quickly slipped 0-3 down. Pliskova made 17 unforced errors to three for Kerber. Kerber also had the only break point of the forty-six minute second frame.
Her victory over Venus Williams in the fourth round, which she described as a tougher assignment than beating 22-time Slam victor Serena in the semis, required her to save a match point.
Kerber’s US Open triumph over Karolina Pliskova on Saturday made her just the second woman, after China’s Li Na, to win her first two Grand Slam titles after celebrating her 28th birthday.
Kerber’s final round was a nail-biting 3-3 deciding set. Kerber won 7 of 11 (64%) points to 7 of 12 (58%) from Karolina Pliskova.
“I was thinking, OK, now I can even lose in the first or second round of the US Open, but I was able to take the game from Cincinnati here”.
“I mean, definitely, I would say now that she deserves to be No. 1”, Pliskova said. She was one break up very soon in the third set.
“This is also special that she is German”. She was so close to winning her 23rd grand slam title, and at 34 years of age, what has she not done. She has a sister Jessica; the entire family enjoys tennis and Kerber is trilingual – speaking German, Polish and English.
In recent history, the victor of the first set of a Grand Slam championship match went on to win the crown 39 times in the last 41 Majors.
“It’s just incredible”, Kerber said in her on-court interview, voice breaking.
She turned professional and another dozen years passed before her first grand slam title at this year’s Australian Open.
Clearly this bit of self-motivation worked for Kerber when one of those very critical moments presented itself during the final set.
Kerber beat Williams in the Australian Open in January of this year, earning a Grand Slam for a German woman again for the first time since 1999. And now she’s done the unthinkable: usurping Serena Williams for the No. 1 ranking. Despite this semifinal loss in the U.S. open, one can not overlook her dominance over the past decade. Because she is a tough opponent and she goes for it whenever she has a chance. “I am more positive and can deal with things even if they do not go that well”. Because I know that when I practicing I can be aggressive.
The 6-foot 1-inch (185 cm) Pliskova fought back from a set down at Arthur Ashe Stadium to give Kerber, one of the best defensive players in history, a major scare in the grand slam final. It’s extremely rare for a first-time finalist like Pliskova to actually win a Grand Slam. I’m getting used to everything that’s happened around me right now. “I believe I can win matches like this next time”.
“Last year I was sitting at home, making my preparation and my goals were to be playing better in the big tournaments, especially in the majors”. I learned a lot on the mental side and everything came together now.
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As a dad, you always want you little girl’s dreams to come true.
